Inside you'll find a selection of humorous, whimsical and musical paintings. People often try to put them in a box - pop surrealism, visionary art, folk art, art brut, magical realism, or whatever label seems to work. They just don’t fit. If you come up with the perfect label, let me know; I’d like to use it!

What's with the Toy Portraits? I think of them as formal portraits that try to capture and project the strange dream quality exuded by certain antique toys, folk art figures and other assorted objects. Nepalese monkeys, teddy bears, rocking horses, elephants, pixies, and other toys peer out from these odd canvases. Yes, they are toys. But they become something else as I paint them. I go where they tell me to go, and if they take on a unique identity, well that's the way they are.

Inside the Rock & Roll gallery, you'll find portraits of guitars. "Portraits of guitars?" you ask? I love guitars, especially electric guitars. The American guitar kings from the 50s - Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Rickenbacker and some others - exude a pure style that knocks me out. They also send out beams of sonic energy that I sure do like.

The Buddhistas- Ah, the Buddhistas. They go off in some other direction, some other time.

In the Visions galleries, everything is possible. The mind wanders all over the universe, but seems to linger most often in Jupiter7, the alternate world I live in when I’m painting. I like it when a picture makes you laugh.

Enjoy the pictures and thanks for visiting!
Charlie

"Nuclear Family" Oil on Canvas